Kolkata Traffic Police sergeants received training in Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS) skills

Kolkata : A training program is being organized for Kolkata Traffic Police to enable them to become skilled first-responders in cases of road crashes. The training program is developed and conducted by Save LIFE Foundation (SLF) with the support of Renault India Private Limited and The Park Clinic.

SLF will initially train over 300 Kolkata Traffic Police sergeants in life-saving Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS) skills and techniques, enabling them to assist injured persons on the road with alacrity and skill. This training program is called the “Jeevan Rakshak” Training Program.

The program was officially launched today at a function held at the Park Clinic, in the presence of former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Chittatosh Mookerjee, and Addl Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vineet Kumar Goyal.The training is being supported by Renault India Private Limited under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives. CEO and Managing Director Renault India Operations Sumit Sawhney said, “As a socially responsible automotive, we are proud to partner with SaveLIFE Foundation for ‘Jeevan Rakshak’ training program which will enable traffic police sergeants to save life of road accident victims. The number of fatalities in India are increasing at an alarming rate, many of these lives could have been saved if they had received timely help.”

“To address this burgeoning problem the “Jeevan Rakshak” Training Program will be of grave importance. I am sure that our cohesive efforts and the life-saving training techniques provided by the SaveLIFE Foundation will aid the Kolkata Traffic Police to help victims receive immediate assistance at the accident site and save precious lives. I believe this initiative will pave the way for a sustainable partnership to deliver tangible results in promoting safer roads,” he said.

According to data released by the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), India recorded over 1.4 lakh road crash fatalities in 2015 alone.

In West Bengal, 6,234 people were killed and 11,794 people were seriously injured in road crashes in 2015. Kolkata recorded 422 fatalities and 3,329 serious injuries due to road crashes in 2015 with an accident severity (road crash fatalities per 100 crashes) of 9.7. Founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation Piyush Tewari said, “Police, as first-responders, can play a game-changing role in saving lives of injured persons on the road. They can stabilize, revive and transfer victims without delay. Having trained over 10,000 Police personnel in essential life-saving skills across India, it is our pleasure to expand this program to Kolkata with support from Renault and assist the Police in saving precious lives on the road.”

Under this program the Kolkata Traffic Police will be trained in techniques of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), bleeding control, extrication, spine immobilization and response to special scenarios such as bomb blasts, drowning, choking, electrocution and heart attacks. The training will enable Police first-responders to stabilize a victim and safely transport the injured to the closest hospital with alacrity and skill.Professor of Neurosurgery, and Consultant Neurosurgeon at Park Clinic Dr.Sandip Chatterjee explained “Traffic Sergeants are the first to get to the aid of an accident victim in this city, and they need most to be conversant with techniques of resuscitation and also transfer to a hospital environment. More harm is often done to the spines of victims during transfer than during the accident itself, and awareness about this is of paramount importance. At Park Clinic Kolkata we have been involved in various training programs for police officials for the last 15 years”

Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.